Mysterious Ancient Human - Denisova Hominins Travelled From Northern Asia to Australia

Neanderthals and Denisovans were closely related. DNA comparisons suggest that our ancestors diverged from theirs some 500,000 years ago.
Credit: NGC, CHIP CLARK, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Scientists from the University of Adelaide in Australia and Pthe Natural History Museum in the UK have proposed that human ancestor, Denisova hominins, managed to travel from Indonesia on the way to Australia and New Guinea and interbred with modern humans on the way. DNA studies show that Denovan DNA is not present in indegnenous humans at the northern asian region where the first of the species have been discovered but were prevalent in Australia, New Guinea and surrounding areas.

This observation means that Denisovans have managed to cross the Wallace line, one of the world's biggest biogeographic barriers which is formed by a powerful marine current along the east coast of Borneo.

The Denisovan species were discovered from a 41,000 year old finger bone fragment of a juvenile female found in the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in Siberia, a cave which has also been inhabited by Neanderthals and modern humans. It is believed that Denisovans have coexisted in Asia with Neanderthals and early modern humans.

Denisovans are defined so far only by the DNA from one bone chip and two teeth and is generally referred to as the "Third Human".